Born Chester Arthur Burnett on June 10 1910 in White Station near West Point, Mississippi, he was nicknamed "Big Foot Chester" and "Bull Cow" in his early years, and he explained the origin of the name "Howlin' Wolf" thus: "I got that from my grandfather. He used to tell me stories about the wolves in that part of the country." Howlin’ Wolf was a musical giant in every way. He stood six-foot-six, weighed almost three hundred pounds, wore size seventeen shoes, and poured out his darkest sorrows onstage in a voice like a raging chainsaw.